Grey nomads travelling on the Barkly Highway are being warned to plan their fuel supplies very carefully after a fire forced the closure of the Barkly Homestead Roadhouse for the ‘foreseeable future’.
The ABC reports that the Barkly Homestead Roadhouse is the only fuel station for 500 kilometres between the NT town of Tennant Creek and the border community of Camooweal in outback Queensland.
Although it is the off-season for tourists in the region, Mount Isa Police District Senior Sergeant Sean Wade said there continued to be caravanners travelling through the region.
“It’s an essential stop for caravanners due to the fuel,” he told the ABC. “Especially at this time of year when the temperatures are up around the high 30s and early 40s.”
A sight no grey nomad wants to see! The PIC: Srattha Nualsate / Pexels
Camooweal Police are organising for signs to be erected along the Barkly Highway warning motorists about the change before they cross over the border into the Territory.
The fire at Barkly Homestead Roadhouse, which is situated 200 kilometres east of Tennant Creek, started in the kitchen
Owner David Bassingthwaighte told the ABC that three people were staying at the roadhouse at the time of the fire, but no-one was injured.
“Between a few people, they managed to get some fire extinguishers and put it out on the ceiling,” he said.
Mr Bassingthwaighte said the roadhouse would close indefinitely while they assessed the extent of the damage.
“I suspect it will be a number of weeks before we’re up and going again,” he told the ABC.
He said the top priority was restoring power at the site so they could resume fuel sales.
“But then it’ll be operating on a fuel-only basis,” he said. “After that, we’ll just have to play it by ear on how much damage there is and how long it’ll take to fix.”
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I NEVER fuel up at the Barkly..!
We always top up at that Roadhouse. We use the system of having enough fuel to get to the next +1 fuel stop as you never can be certain that they will have the fuel you use plus the payment system is working. Also have the cash to survive a couple of stops. Having experienced a Bank stopping a credit card as they suspected, wrongly, that a transaction was suspect and was the next day after 2 fuel purchases before I could contact them to fix it. Also have experienced a Roadhouse awaiting a resupply truck.
We do have a longer range tank to make the distance from 3 Ways to Commonweal, but this particular situation would stump many traveler’s if their trip was going to or from the Tablelands Hwy